Down To My Last
by Lysha
Summary: Sequel to Pas Ilmund tu Livonde. Lianne Leonhart and her friends are taking their SeeD Exam, and they put in the charge of an enigmatic squad leader by the name of Skye Zephyr. Will they pass or fail?
1. A Father's Worries

**Author's Note:** This saga is dedicated, in it's entirety, to my friends - those who make me who I am. The people I'd especially like to dedicate this to are:Alex (the star of my show!),Seph, Holly and Cat. Thanks for letting me feature your characters here, and I assure you, all three get much more important roles in later stories! Thanks for everything, you guys, and all my other friends too! Enjoy!

**IMPORTANT: **This fanfic is a sequel to a previous story of mine, 'Pas Ilmund tu Livonde'. If you haven't read that fic, this one probably won't make that much sense to you. But, it's not essential, so feel free to read them as you like! Also, I'm very aware that the chapters of this story are very short, and believe me, I've lost enough sleep over it! But, that's probably because this story is very short - short by comparison of my usual ones, anyway. Oh well, if short chapters don't put you off, enjoy the story!

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**Down To My Last – The SeeD Exam**

"Squall, the ships are ready. We've been confirmed permission to land at Dollet. Is everything ready?"

"Yeah, you can send them out now."

"Right away."

Squall sighed. It needed more than simple mission preparations for this exam to be ready. Squall needed to prepare _himself_ too. For this was no ordinary SeeD exam – because this time, one of the candidates was Squall's own daughter, Lianne Leonhart.

This was the first time Lianne had been into battle on her own. Squall wasn't sure he was ready to let her do this yet. She was now fifteen years of age, and had already been in battle before in her life. Squall had been with her at the time, but it made him feel no better about the whole situation. But now, he had no choice but to let her go, and do what she needed to do.

He just never expected this to be so hard.


	2. Our Team

**Author's note: **This chapter marks the introduction (well, more the_ mention_) of two of my friend's characters, Skye, Dante and Shin - belonging to Seph, Holly and Cat. Welcome to the saga, you guys!

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"SeeD exam! SeeD exam! SeeD exam!"

"I'm glad you're so confident about this whole thing…" Lianne said, watching her friend bounding up and down the corridor with her characteristic enthusiasm.

"Don't tell me you're scared." Alix smiled to her.

"Not really…" Lianne lied. She was clenching her fists to stop her hands from shaking, and was chewing her lip to try and unknot her stomach.

"SeeD exam! SeeD exam! SeeD exam!" Leali was still chanting, skipping up and down the corridor.

All the other candidates looked at her in annoyance. Everyone was concentrating, mentally trying to prepare themselves for their big exam.

The sight of a Garden Faculty at the other end of the corridor stopped Leali in her tracks. All the other candidates fell quiet also. All eyes were on the Faculty.

"I will now be announcing the team assignments for this mission. You must take this exam seriously – treat it as you would a real mission. Everything you do from this point onwards will determine your future at Garden. Now, squad A will be Shin Akito, Dante Mastic…"

Lianne tried to keep her mind on the teams the Faculty was reading out, but it was proving difficult thanks to her nerves. She had no knowledge of what was being said, until she heard, "Squad C will be Lianne Leonhart, Leali Kinneas, Alix Shuray, and the squad leader will be Skye Zephyr."

Lianne smiled upon hearing her friends' names, but as she heard the name of the squad leader, she had to stop and think. "Skye Zephyr? Who's he?" she wondered.

Alix shrugged. "Dunno. But, hey, we got real lucky being put in the same squad."

Leali grinned. "Yeah! Now come on, let's go!"

Lianne took a second to steady her nerves again, then nodded, following Leali and Alix past the Garden Faculty, towards their deployment car.


	3. Skye

When the three friends boarded their car, another person was there waiting. He looked a little older than them – maybe around sixteen – and had pale skin and untamed grey hair that dropped down into his crimson eyes. He looked incredibly impatient, as he sat there, dressed in his Garden uniform.

Leali skipped ahead and took the seat next to this stranger.

Lianne and Alix took the seats opposite, silent in the presence of such a serious-looking individual.

Leali, however, didn't seem fazed by the whole thing. "Hey!" she said, in greeting to the boy.

He looked at her, as if acknowledging her presence, but didn't speak in return.

Lianne watched this with interest._ Anti-social, huh?_ She thought to herself. _I can deal with this._ She held out a hand for him to shake. "Hi, I'm Lianne. Pleased to meet you!"

He gave her look with his red-coloured eyes that sent a shiver down her spine. Quickly, she withdrew her hand.

"So, you got a name or what?" Alix questioned.

It took a moment, but then the boy said, "Skye. I'm Skye Zephyr."

"Oh, you're our squad leader!" Leali beamed. "Well, hi, Mr Leader. I'm Leali Kinneas!"

Skye nodded, without even looking at her.

"I'm Alix." Alix said simply, watching Skye carefully.

Skye regarded him for a second, then turned away.

Lianne nudged Alix gently and whispered to him, "Yeah, I think this SeeD exam's gonna be even more fun than I first thought…"


	4. Mission

After a short journey by car, squad C arrived at the port in Balamb. From there, they boarded their deployment ship.

Taking their seats again, Quistis boarded also. She stood at the front of them all, and began to address them with their mission briefing. This was no surprise to them all – even though Quistis had lost her position as an instructor quite a few years ago, she had been promoted once again, just recently. It seemed she was doing better this time around, as she was now the top instructor at Balamb Garden. "Okay, squad C! The situation is as follows: there is a strange wave of monsters sweeping across Dollet. We believe their point of origin is the Dollet Communication Tower. Your squad will be in charge of locating the source of the monsters, and putting an end to it. Your instructions are to head straight to the Communication Tower."

A display of a map of Dollet appeared on the screen behind her, and showed the path through the town towards the tower.

Lianne smiled to herself. Her father's exam had involved the exact same location. But it was spawning _monsters_? She knew _that_ couldn't be good news.

"Once you arrive at the Comm. Tower, your first priority is to destroy the source of the monsters, if it is there, and then, return immediately to the Dollet Portwhere this ship will be docked. I'm sure you all remember the rules – the order to withdraw takes priority, so keep that in mind. Lianne, Alix, Leali – be sure to follow your leader's instructions to the letter. And Skye, make sure you take care of your squad. You have the most responsibility here."

Skye shrugged at Quistis' words.

"Now…let's get through this exam, everyone!"


	5. Preperations

Once Quistis had left the compartment, squad C prepared themselves for battle.

Leali was loading her rifle with shiny gold bullets, occasionally dropping them on the floor accidentally, and letting them roll around the metal floor before stooping down to pick them up.

Alix sat polishing the blade of his weapon, making it shine as if it were pure platinum. He even polished the handle of his gunblade, out of anxiousness.

Skye was tightening the buckles on some spiked gauntlets he had put on to his hands, attaching and detaching spikes here and there.

Lianne was tenser than ever. The incessant noise of bullets rolling on the floor, the squeak of Alix's already sparkling gunblade, and the creak of the leather of Skye's gauntlets all combined was driving her crazy. No one spoke, so it was silent but for those irritating sounds. Feeling the annoyance boiling inside of her, Lianne could take no more. She stood up sharply, causing everyone to glance up from their weapons to look at her.

"I'm going outside for a while. I need some air." She said, taking her leave from the compartment and going out on to the deck of the deployment ship. Dollet was in sight, over the sea. As she cast her brown eyes out at the site of her exam, gunblade in her hands, her stomach writhed.

This was her big chance to prove herself.


	6. Assignments

They had left their deployment ship and were waiting at their post within the next half an hour. Quistis had left them now, and squad C were alone in the rages of battle. The other squads had already arrived, and were tackling the problem as they had been assigned to.

Lianne hadn't been expecting the battle to be so violent. She wasn't expecting the monsters to be attacking in such ferocious waves, or to find whole buildings crippled by the invasion. She could understand a few monsters here and there, but this…

Their weapons still drawn and ready for battle, Lianne was becoming increasingly tense. Leali was surprisingly calm – unfazed by the whole concept of battle. To Alix, this was nothing new; he was taking this as a completely normal everyday experience. Skye was the same, showing no sign of fear whatsoever.

"Okay, as I'm your squad leader, I expect a little respect. So listen up. You will each be assigned with a duty to make sure we get through this exam."

"Hey… what do you mean, 'a bit of respect'? I don't have to show respect to anyone if I don't want to!" Lianne said, folding her arms with defiance.

"Lianne…" Leali and Alix both warned, quietly.

Skye gave her a dark look. "You'll do what I tell you to, Leonhart. So… Shuray – you and I will be the main attack team. We will go into battle at close range, and eliminate all the targets that we can. Kinneas – you'll be long-range attack. Keep in the back and take out enemies from there. You can be our lookout too. Keep an eye out for monsters."

"Roger!" Leali beamed.

"And Leonhart… you're our navigator. Move out!"

Alix, Leali and Skye began to leave their positions, and had only managed to get so far when Lianne shouted, "Hey!" after them all.

They all turned to face her, and she was still standing there, arms folded and as stubborn as ever.

"WHY do _I_ have to be the navigator! Why do _you_ all get to fight!" she snapped.

Skye looked impatient. "Just because you're Squall's daughter, don't think you're getting any special treatment." He turned around and began to stalk away.

The second his back was turned, Lianne found it necessary to pull a face in his direction.

Leali giggled at her friend's actions. "Come on, Lianne… we need somebody to be our navigator, after all…"

"But why _me_! You heard him…" she put on a voice, imitating Skye. "'Just because you're Squall's daughter, don't think you're getting any special treatment'… I _don't_ like him! In fact, there's a good point!" she ran off inSkye's direction, calling, "You do know my dad's the leader of SeeD, right!" He'll get you big-time if you start criticising me!"

Leali and Alix looked at each other, eyebrows raised, then followed.


	7. Friction

"And another thing! I'm a sorceress, I'll have you know! I could easily-"

"Leonhart! For the last time, shut up!" Skye shouted.

They had been walking for five minutes, and Lianne had still not yet dropped her argument with Skye.

"No! You have no right to tell _me_ to be quiet!" she yelled back.

"Yes, I do! I'm your squad leader!"

"Yeah, well, you're also a big-headed, disrespectful-"

"Lianne! Be quiet… please?" Alix said.

"Okay. Sorry, Alix." Lianne immediately fell silent.

She then carried on walking, heading along her chosen route to the Communication Tower, Leali following loyally.

Skye looked at Alix. "How do you do that?"

"It's a gift."


	8. The First Fight

"According to my calculations, the Dollet Communication Tower is due east from here." Lianne said, trying to sound intelligent.

"Wow… how did you know that?" Leali gaped, in awe of her friend's knowledge.

"Gee… do you think the fact that it's over there gave it away?" Skye said, sarcastically, pointing to where the Communication Tower was clearly visible on top of a huge cliff to the east.

Lianne looked at Skye with narrowed eyes.

"Do you think maybe it's too quiet?" Alix said, shifting his gunblade uneasily.

Skye looked at him for a moment, then lifted his gaze up to the tower. "You may be right. Be on your guard."

"Whoa! Look over there!" Leali yelled, bouncing up and down and pointing down a street near them, where a flurry of monsters was heading their way.

"Looks like you spoke too soon, Shuray." Skye said, running towards the swarm of beasts, fists flying.

"Let's play!" Leali smiled as she dropped to her knees where she was and began firing at the creatures with her deadly rifle.

Alix put up his weapon and followed, slashing the air with his blade.

Lianne was frozen with fear, yet again. Why were her friends finding this so easy, yet she couldn't even deal with the concept of battle? It was hard to grasp. Every time she went into a battlefield, it was the same way. In her arguments with Skye, the fear had subsided – it was one way to take her mind off the ensuing task. But now, she found that fear coming back to her, and it felt even worse than before. She was willing to accept the facts: she was terrified of battle, and there was nothing she could do to change that.

She couldn't even bear to watch. There were so _many_… she had never expected a full-on attack like this. And she was standing there, doing nothing, as Skye, Alix and Leali tackled the wave. Then, she realised – this wasn't the way to pass. This wasn't what her mother would have done…

"Fira!" she cried, letting a fierce blast of flames fly from her hand towards the attacking monsters, straight at a creature that Skye was trying to deal with.

Skye jumped back in surprise as the flames came near him, then turned to look at who had sent the blast his way. He saw Lianne smiling to him sarcastically.

"See? I _told _you I could fight." She said.

Skye nodded, and his fight continued.

With fatal slashes from Alix's blade, dangerous swipes through the air from Skye's armoured fists, lethal bullets firing from Leali's gun, and powerful bursts of magic from Lianne herself, the monsters were defeated at a fast pace. But still, they kept coming.

"How many of these things are there?" Leali said, reloading her rifle yet again.

Skye jumped back again, out of range of the monsters' attacks. He rubbed the knuckles on his right hand. "We're going to have to find another route if this carries on. It could be endless."

Lianne breathed out with exhaustion. "I don't think I can do much more…"

"Just keep trying, Lianne! Keep going, just for a while!" Alix called, felling yet another monster.

One after another, their enemies fell. But every defeated monster called on five more.

"There's too many…" Skye said, eventually. "Squad, withdraw!"

Wielding their weapons, the four candidates withdrew, monster's jaws snapping at their ankles as they ran.

For a terrifying moment, Leali stumbled, and the monsters caught up with her. Lianne caught her arm, stopping her fall, and they continued to run, tearing through the streets of Dollet, back the way they came.

They seemed to be running forever, until Skye beckoned them into a small alleyway to the side. They all dived inside, waiting with baited breath until the monsters passed.

Once the cloud of dust the creatures were leaving behind them had faded away, Alix said, with panic in his voice, "They're heading for the residential area."

Skye shrugged and began to make his way out of the alley. "Forget about it. The other squads will handle it." Then he disappeared back out into the street.

Lianne gave Alix a reassuring smile; she could tell he was worried about what he had just seen. "Let's go. Or we're gonna lose our _fantastic_ leader." She said with sarcasm.

Back out in the streets of Dollet, everything was quiet once again.

"Okay… so now what?" Leali said, glancing around at the streets, looking for signs of any monsters trailing behind.

"Well, we're not going that way again." Skye said, yet again tightening up his leather gauntlets. "Leonhart! We need a new route!"

"If you say so." Lianne rolled her eyes, looking around at the alternative ways leading off from the street in which they were standing. There weren't many options. They could go up – back the way they came – down – back towards the dock – or straight ahead to a small, rocky path. "Okay, well… we should go this way." She said, heading towards the narrow path ahead.

The rest of the squad followed as Lianne started to climb carefully over the rubble covering the ground.


	9. Lianne's Path

"Is it me, or does this path feel like it's going down?" Leali said. They had been making their way down Lianne's chosen path for around ten minutes, stumbling and hauling themselves over huge rocks and piles of rubble. And, sure enough, the path was getting steeper and steeper, until it was at a slope.

"What's the problem with that?" Lianne questioned, jumping from the top of one rock to another just below.

"Well… if the Communication Tower is on _top_ of a hill, we shouldn't really be going _down_, should we?" Leali pointed out.

"She's got a good point. Are you sure you know where you're going, Leonhart?" Skye frowned.

"Erm… yeah, of course I do! I can't believe you appointed me as your navigator and now you're doubting me!" Lianne said, hands on her hips.

"Let's just keep going." Alix said, stopping to rest briefly, short of breath. "How hard can it be to get there?"

"Very hard, if we go the wrong way." Skye said. "Fine. Just keep moving. But I swear, Leonhart, if you've taken us the wrong way…"

"Yeah, I get it! Don't sweat it, we'll get there." Lianne interrupted him, then carried on climbing down the path.

They continued on down for a further five minutes, before the path finally ended, and they came out into a vast, wasteland-like area. There was nothing and no one around at all, and the place stretched as far as the eye could see.

"Oh great…" Skye groaned, cursing under his breath. "You think we're gonna pass now!"

Leali shied away as Skye snapped, sensing his anger.

Alix sighed. "Looks like it's a long hike back up…"

Skye was fuming. Unable to keep his anger inside himself anymore, he took a violent kick at a loose boulder at the bottom of the path of rubble. With the force of the kick, the rock budged from underneath the others and a few rocks rolled down the path to land just in front of the group. Then, they all heard a faint rumbling in the distance.

"Uh… I don't mean to be the one to state the obvious, but do you think maybe we should get out of the way?" Lianne said, eyes fixed on the path.

"That sounds like a good plan right around now…" Alix said, as some of the larger rocks along the path dislodged and came rolling towards them.

All four of them dashed to the side as the boulders crashed downwards. But they came no further than the opening of the path – it proved to be too narrow for them, and they lodged themselves there, completely blocking the way back up that path.

Skye was trembling with anger when the rumbling of the rocks subsided. "Leonhart! You got us into this mess, so you can get us out of it too!"

"Excuse me! Who just kicked the rock, Einstein!" Lianne yelled back.

"That isn't the point! We wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you!" Skye retaliated.

"Well, I didn't exactly _ask _to be the navigator, did I? It was your fault for choosing me for that duty in the first place!" she shouted, eyes brimming with tears. She had wanted to be a SeeD for as long as she could remember, and suddenly and horribly, her whole dream was falling down around her. She kept thinking of what her father would say if she failed the exam, and what her mother would have thought of her. And not just that – no matter how much it seemed like Skye's fault at the moment, she knew it was all down to her, and if they all failed because of this, it would be her fault. But she wasn't going to give up and cry in front of Skye; she wanted to prove him wrong and make him take back what he had said to her. She was going to get them out of this mess.

"I will not tolerate you speaking to me like that! I am your squad leader, have some respect!" Skye growled, eyes flashing with anger.

"Fine. Okay then." Lianne said, calmly, dropping her voice to its normal volume. "You want some respect, you can have it."

Skye stopped in his tracks, confused.

"Well, _sir_. I'm waiting for your orders." Lianne said.

Skye looked at her for a few moments, trying to figure out what she was getting at. "You can start by getting us to the Comm. Tower. That was your duty, remember?"

"Right. Okay." She said, simply, turning around and scanning her eyes around the area they were in, looking for another route. "Well it looks like our old path's out of the question, so… over there'll do." She said, pointing over to a rocky road similar to the one that they had just come down.

"We gotta climb up again?" Leali groaned.

"Stop complaining, Kinneas. Thank Leonhart for all this." Skye scowled.

"Come on then, let's just go." Alix said, gesturing for them all to move on. Lianne led them all over to this new chosen path, and they began to climb, reluctantly and unwillingly.


	10. A Clue? A Threat?

After a brief climb up Lianne's chosen path, the squad emerged once again out into the Dollet streets.

"Back to square one…" Skye sighed, eyes flashing with impatience.

"Nuh-uh!" Leali exclaimed. "Look there!" she pointed to their right, where a large cliff rose above them. And on top of it, was the Communication Tower. A large set of stone steps curled around the cliff, ascending straight up towards their destination.

"See?" Lianne beamed. "I did say we'd get there."

"Whatever, Leonhart. Don't start again." Skye scowled, starting a slow trudge up the stairway. "Let's go. We've got lost time to make up for."

The group began to follow Skye up the steps obediently. All of them were tired and weary. This exam had been enough of a disaster already – they just wanted it to be over; but they knew it had hardly begun. They had merely walked for a while. They had yet to reach their goal.

And, after even more forced walking up the steps, the Communication Tower rose into view. They were finally there. Skye broke into a run, eager to cover the distance between his squad and the tower. The others followed, still silent.

After just a few seconds, they were stopped dead in their tracks by a Geezard that threw itself in their path.

"Yikes!" Leali screamed, and jumped back in alarm.

Skye, without stopping, took a wild sweep at the monster, hitting it squarely in its scaly back. "Keep moving!" he shouted to them, and continued his run. The others, startled by the creature's sudden appearance, took a moment to recover before they started on their way again.

Yet again, they didn't get very far – just a few seconds later and another Geezard appeared seemingly out of nowhere and obscured their path. Skye took it down again, only to be met with another, and another, and another…

Slowly, Geezard after Geezard, they reached the door of the Communication Tower. Skye, being the first to reach the door, pushed down on the handle and slammed his body weight against it – with no success. The door didn't even budge.

"Shuray, a little help here?" Skye said, casting his red eyes Alix's way. Alix obediently joined Skye in his struggle. Together, they pushed and pulled at the door as best as they could, while Leali covered their backs, taking down the monsters that were now appearing behind them, trying to stop their advancement. After a few seconds struggling with the door, Skye gave Lianne an annoyed glance. "Leonhart! Isn't there something you could do instead of just standing there?"

"What do you want _me_ to do?" she exclaimed, looking accused.

"I don't know! Isn't there any magic you can use to help us?" he said, shouting to make his voice heard over Leali's bullet-shots.

"Like what?" Lianne yelled back, being awkward as usual.

"What do I look like, a sorceress expert?" Skye growled, still pushing at the door. "Just use your head!"

Lianne, about to argue back, was stopped in her tracks as she spotted an electrical-looking device to the right of the door. That meant that the locks on the door were being held into place by an electrical current… so all she had to do was short-circuit the system!

"Thundara!" she cried, letting a bolt of lightning fly towards the mechanism with a buzzing sound. The device sparked and hissed for a few brief moments, before making a dying sound, and letting the big iron bolts on the door slide loose, causing Alix and Skye, who were still leaning with all they could against the door, to fall through the doorway, into the Communication Tower itself.

Leali scooped up her rifle, giving Lianne a grin as they quickly scurried inside of the tower, monsters unnervingly close.

Once inside, they all pushed the huge metal door shut behind them, and breathed a sigh of relief – they were free from the swarm of monsters, even if it was only for a while.

"So where do we start looking for this monster brain-washing thingy?" Leali asked, back squarely on the door.

Skye took a quick glance around the room before his eyes rested on a lift. "Up there." And with that, he started off again, towards the lift. The others followed wearily, feeling they needed a lot more than the brief rest they had been given.

A few seconds later, they found themselves on top of the Communication Tower. Its height created rushing winds that were as exhilarating as they were terrifying.

Alix half-closed his eyes to see around the tower-top – the strong gusts stung his eyes. "Any idea what this thing looks like?" he shouted, against the roar of the wind.

"Not a clue. Just start looking for anything that appears suspicious!" Skye ordered.

"Heeey… this doesn't look normal!" Leali said, pointing to a bunch of wires and mechanics structured into a perfect box shape. There was no metal cover protecting the machinery – the only parts visible for use on the outside were an electronic panel, and a lilac-coloured dome set in the top. The whole contraption was letting off a strange whirring sound, and a single, thin beam of light shone from the lilac dome up into the Communication Tower's satellite dish.

Lianne eyed this with awe. The jewel in the centre of the machine was almost beautiful. She simply stood and looked at it for a few moments, wanting just to touch its glassy surface.

"Okay, let's disarm this thing." Skye said, tightening his leather gloves again.

"Hey, are you sure that's the thing we're looking for?" Alix said, with worry.

"What else could it be?" Skye shrugged.

Unable to reply, Alix sighed.

"Now…how do we do this?" Skye pondered.

"Oh, I know!" Leali exclaimed. "I could shoot it! It'd stop working then!"

"What the hell, just try it, Kinneas." Skye said.

Leali nodded and took a position quite a distance from the machine. Carefully, she put her rifle into place, and took her best aim. Her finger pressed on the trigger and…

…She slipped at the last moment. She fell to the side, seemingly falling over nothing with her characteristic clumsiness. The bullet left the barrel of the gun, and sliced through the air, straight towards Skye. Travelling at such high speed, it would have been hard for Skye to dodge the bullet – but luckily, Leali's aim wasn't accurate enough to even hit an accidental target, and the gold shell span past him.

Leali clambered up from the floor in a panic. "Skye! I'm – I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to – It was my fault, I just – I'm so sorry!" she bowed her head.

Skye looked furious. "That is it! I have had enough!" he said, going over to the machine in an angry march and tearing out some wires from the contraption without even thinking twice. With a hiss, and a spark, the light beam coming from the jewel flickered, then died.

"Job done." Skye snarled, angry tone not residing. "Now let's get out of here."

Alix, Leali and Lianne, still in shock from Skye's unexpected reactions, took a moment to respond to his orders. Lianne, however, didn't comply at all.

"Hold on a second." She said, stooping down next to the machine, and reaching out an inquisitive hand to touch the jewel set in the top. She ran her fingers timidly over its beautiful crystalline surface. "Shouldn't we take this with us?"

"Why?" Skye frowned at her.

"For evidence?" she suggested.

Skye sighed. "Look, just leave it, Leonhart. Our ship'll be departing soon."

And with that, he, Alix and a very embarrassed-looking Leali got on to the lift. Lianne, with one quick glance to make sure no one was watching, hastily snatched the jewel from the top of the machine and shoved it into her pocket.

"Hey, wait up! Don't go without me!" she called after them as she followed them on to the lift.

And just a few seconds later, they found themselves running from the Comm. Tower towards the door.

As they ran, treading carefully over the bodies of defeated monsters, a figure stood at the top of the tower and watched. Shrouded in darkness, dressed in black, the figure let out an evil chuckle. "It's so very close now."


	11. Did We Make It?

When squad C found themselves back in the residential area, they were met with a scene of ruin. The swarm of monsters that had attacked them earlier had headed down to this area and caused a great mess. The whole place seemed deserted apart from them, and a few other squads of candidate SeeDs rushing towards the docks. The ships were obviously ready to depart.

"Looks like we made it just in time." Skye said, turning to address his team. "Which is some kind of miracle if you ask me." He took a look at Alix, who didn't appear to be listening to him. "Shuray? Is something up?"

Alix was listening intently to something else, quite a distance away. "Can you hear that?"

Skye, Lianne and Leali tried to listen, but all gave up after a few seconds when they heard nothing.

"Someone's calling for help!" Alix said, starting at a run in the opposite direction to the dock.

"Alix! We're gonna miss our ship!" Lianne called after him.

Alix stopped and wheeled around sharply. "Go without me if you have to! I'm gonna go look for this person. They need help!" Then, he continued his run.

Lianne took off straight away, with every intention to follow him.

"Leonhart, get back here!" Skye ordered.

But Lianne ignored him, determined to stay with Alix.

And with that, Leali took off too.

Skye took a nervous glance back at the dock before following his squad. "I can't believe I'm doing this…"

Once they had caught up with each other, and were once again running as a group, they ran for a few minutes longer before they all clearly heard this cry for help.

Alix stopped and listened more closely for a brief second, before slowly making his way over to what looked like the ruins of a small house. A tiny whimpering could now be heard, like the cries of a young child. And, with horror, Alix laid eyes on a little girl. She looked no older than six, her short red hair was stuck to her face in tear-tracks mingled with blood coming from small cuts on her cheeks, and her brown eyes shone with pain. She was trapped under a fallen piece of timber.

When Lianne, Leali and Skye saw this dreadful sight, their eyes widened in shock.

Alix knelt down next to her, and put his hand on top of hers. "Hey, are you okay? We're here to help you."

The girl didn't answer, as Alix then turned to his friends. "Skye, could you help me move this please?"

Skye, stunned into silence by the scene, simply nodded, with none of his usual sarcasm.

"Lianne, Leali? Talk to her, keep her calm." Alix said, moving into position.

So Lianne and Leali dropped to their knees beside the girl, as Skye and Alix started to try and move the timber pole.

"Hey, little one. What's your name?" Lianne said, in a quiet, reassuring voice.

"Kelsie." she squeaked, another large tear rolling down her face.

"That's a pretty name." said Leali, her eyes filled with sympathy for the girl. "Don't worry. We'll get you out of there."

Skye and Alix curled their fingers around the sharp, rotten wood of the pole, and with all the strength they could muster, they managed to move it from across Kelsie's legs where the pole had fallen.

Once the pole had been moved, Lianne put gentle arms around the girl and picked her up from the rubble. "Are you okay?"

"My leg hurts…" she cried.

"Kelsie! Kelsie!"

The squad looked over their shoulders to see a woman with a panicked expression running towards them.

"Mommy!" Kelsie sobbed, holding out her arms to the woman.

She came over to Lianne and took Kelsie form her. Lianne smiled at their reunion, as the woman said, "Where did you find her?"

"She was caught underneath the rubble of this house." Alix explained. "We helped her out. But I don't know if she's injured."

The woman nodded, and kissed Kelsie's tear-stained cheek. "Thank you, all of you."

"It's the least we could do." Alix said.

"Come on… we've got to go." Skye said, returning to his usual impatient self.

"Please excuse us. We've got to leave." Lianne said, bowing to Kelsie and her mother.

The squad left them, with Leali waving to Kelsie until she was out of sight.

When they reached the main road that lead to the port, they all broke into a frantic run. Everything was deserted now – no other squads remained in the area.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Leali said through what little breath she had left from their dash.

And when they turned the corner, the dock came clearly into view. Only one ship remained, and it was already starting up its engine.

"Come on! It's leaving!" Skye yelled, his voice almost panicked.

"We're not gonna make it!" Lianne cried, a tear of pain rolling down her face as she pushed herself to run from the ship.

"We've got to! Or it's a fail for us for sure!" Leali said, trying to concentrate on not tripping over.

The ship was slowly moving away form the dock, and now there was a metre's distance between the shore and the vehicle.

"Get ready to jump!" Alix called out to them as they neared the edge.

Skye, who was first in line, took an amazing leap and landed on the back of the boat with a triumphant grin. Within a few seconds, he had opened the back hatch, ready for them all to go inside.

Leali reached the shore next, and took a clumsy jump towards the ship. For a moment, it looked as if she wouldn't make it. But by a fortunate miracle, she hit the rear of the boat, landing cat-like on the metal surface.

Alix was next, and ran up to the shore at a sprint, preparing for the jump he was about to make, before stopping short at Lianne's cry of, "Alix, I can't make it!"

"You will! Here, grab my hand!"

Lianne put her shaking hand into Alix's confident fingers as Alix took the jump, pulling both himself and Lianne off the dock. Leali let out a little scream as they both hit the water with a splash. Fingers still entwined, Alix put out his free hand and managed to clasp the rear of the boat. Skye put his hands around Alix's wrist and began to pull him up. Alix crawled on to the boat with a grateful nod to Skye. This left Lianne trailing behind in the water, one hand in Alix's, the other on the boat. Alix stooped down and took Lianne's other hand. With some struggle, he managed to haul her up, where she then clutched on to Alix desperately, silenced by shock, panicked tears in her eyes.

They had done it. Their SeeD exam was complete, even if it was only just.

And without a word to one another, they looked out, back over Dollet, feeling somewhat proud of themselves.

"Let's go inside." Skye said, after a second.

"Yeah, or you two are gonna catch your deaths of cold!" Leali smiled.

So, Leali and Skye went inside, leaving Lianne and Alix out on the rear of the ship.

Arms still holding Alix tightly, Lianne buried her face in his shoulder. "I was so scared. I didn't think I was going to make it."

"Don't worry about it; you did make it, and that's all that matters. It's all over now." Alix sighed.

"I'm so tired…" she said in exhaustion.

"I know. I think we all are." He said.

All was quiet for a few more moments, before Lianne moved away slightly so that she could see Alix's face. "You know what I don't understand?"

"What?"

"How monsters could have caused as much destruction as we saw back there. No way could they have destroyed entire _houses_ by themselves." She said.

"Good point. But I guess it's out of her hands now. We've done our job; now it's time for the SeeD force to take over. You don't have to worry." he said, reassuringly.

"True. But the whole thing's kinda… scary, don't you think?"

"I guess it is." Alix stood up, helping Lianne to her feet too. "Come on, let's go and sit down. I bet Leali and Skye are wondering where we are."

Lianne nodded, and together, hand in hand, they went inside the ship.

* * *

To be continued… 

Emily Nash-Medlyn (Lysha)

Thursday 21st October 2004 – Tuesday 18th January 2005

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, that's the end of that! I hope you enjoyed this installment in my saga, and that you'll join me for the next one too! Please, leave a review if you can, so that I can keep these stories up to their very best!


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